U-M website for Social Integrity promotes digital citizenship
A new U-M website launches today at SocialIntegrity.umich.edu — just in time for Social Media Day June 30.
Monthly Archives: June 2018
DeMonner & Whyte recognized for leadership at IMS Global Learning Institute
Sean DeMonner, ITS executive director of Teaching and Learning (TL), and Anthony Whyte, ITS-TL IT program manager, each received leadership awards at the 2018 IMS Global Learning Impact Leadership Institute held in Baltimore in May. DeMonner was recognized for leadership in higher education, while Whyte received his fourth consecutive IMS leadership award for his work leading the Caliper… Read More »
It’s official! New Michigan App now available
If you were one of the many who joined the beta testing for the Michigan App, you’ve hopefully taken the opportunity to explore the new features and more modern interface, and provide input. After several months of incorporating tester feedback, the new Michigan App is now available to everyone! The new Michigan App was first released to beta… Read More »
What’s the deal with Bitcoin?
A Bitcoin boom could make millionaires, but a bust could just as easily destroy the cryptocurrency. So what exactly is Bitcoin and how does it work? LSA researcher Lynette Shaw provides insights about new forms of digital currency—and what actually makes something worth anything. According to Shaw, an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Complex Systems,… Read More »
Beware of tech support scams
Have you ever seen a pop-up on your computer or received an unsolicited call urging you to contact “tech support?” Scammers sometimes impersonate IT support staff and claim something is wrong with your computer. They offer to help fix the problem—for a fee—but instead may steal your personal information or infect your computer with malicious software. This… Read More »
Blockbuster MOOCs support teaching and learning efforts
Some “blockbuster” massive open online courses (MOOCs) generate large revenues for universities, which then often distribute the funds in a variety of ways. U-M typically gives a third of its revenue from MOOCs to central administration, a third to the department offering the course, and a third to the professors teaching it. Charles Severance, a clinical associate professor in the School… Read More »
Report finds sexual harassment policies in academia lacking
Lilia M. Cortina, Timothy R.B. Johnson, and Anna Kirkland are U-M professors who participated on a 21-person committee to change the culture around sexual harassment policies in academia. The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine finds that academic institutions can do more to prevent sexual harassment, especially in historically male-dominated STEM fields. According to… Read More »
Crowdsourcing in milliseconds
Walter Lasecki, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and in the School of Information, has co-authored a paper introducing the “look-ahead approach,” a hybrid intelligence workflow that enables instantaneous crowdsourcing systems that can return crowd responses within milliseconds. According to the published paper, “Bolt: Instantaneous Crowdsourcing via Just-in-Time Training:” …real-time crowdsourcing has made it possible to solve… Read More »
Lampe elected to ACM SIGCHI Executive Committee
Cliff Lampe, U-M School of Information associate professor, was elected Executive Vice President of the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI), a significant honor. In his wide-ranging research on social and technical structures of large-scale technology-mediated communications, Lampe has worked with Facebook, Wikipedia, Slashdot, and Everything2. He also has helped create multiple social… Read More »
Dearborn ITS team wins staff award
A team from Dearborn’s Information Technology Services were among more than 75 staff members honored with Chancellor’s Staff Recognition Awards. Rex Chang, Chundao Che, Emily Hamilton, Sherie Modelski, and Jerry Van Couwenberghe from the Facilities ELB Hub won the exceptional team award. The award recognized their work with the Engineering Lab Building construction and renovation. The team led the effort… Read More »
Gameful Learning Summer Institute encourages student learning ownership
On July 23 and 24, the second Gameful Summer Institute is hosting an event intended for higher education faculty, K-12 teachers, instructional designers, and education technology administrators who will learn how to encourage student ownership of learning. “Anyone who watches someone play video games or board games or compete in athletic competitions knows that games are great at… Read More »
Summer training for U-M Box and Google
The ITS Collaboration Services team is excited to offer a summer series of instructor-led training sessions to U-M faculty and staff. The classes are offered at no-charge and are open for registration via My LINC. Stay tuned for additional fall scheduled classes as well! Mail and Calendar (2hrs) ITS_GOOC101 July 10, 1-3 p.m., Shapiro 2054 Working with Google Drive (2hrs) ITS_GOOC102 July… Read More »
Learn about GDPR at July 26 open forum
You and all members of the U-M community are invited to a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Open Forum to learn more about U-M’s approach to GDPR compliance. Sol Bermann, university privacy officer and interim chief information security officer, and David Grimm, associate general counsel, will share U-M’s approach to GDPR compliance, demonstrate the processes and tools developed… Read More »
U-M researchers strive to keep confidential data safe
“Virtually all human activity in the modern world creates digital traces. It is our responsibility to ensure that the resulting data is protected and managed responsibly,” said Margaret Levenstein, director of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the U-M Institute for Social Research. Levenstein is leading a project team working to create a “System of… Read More »
Brush up on digital self-defense June 19
Register for the free training session “Digital Self-Defense: Threats, Passwords, and Securing Your Accounts.”
Say no to cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is best avoided. Don’t do it yourself, and don’t let attackers use your devices to do it. Cryptocurrency mining is a computationally intensive process of validating digital currency transactions that allows the miner to earn transaction fees and digital currency. Illicit cryptocurrency mining has displaced ransomware as the number one cyber security threat, according to industry… Read More »
HITS supports research innovation at Cores Technology & Services Showcase
The latest technologies and services available in biomedical research, all in one place. The Core Technology & Services Showcase on June 7 brought hundreds of faculty, students, and staff from the Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BRCF) together with dozens of partner vendors, including Health Information Technology & Services. Cores are centralized facilities or labs that offer shared… Read More »
AI program detects malnutrition in children
A Kenya-based company, Kimetrica, has developed a new AI program called Methods for Extremely Rapid Observation of Nutritional status (MERON), that might have the ability to identify malnutrition from a photo, which makes it easier to assess nutrition problems in volatile regions. Andrew Jones, a public health nutritionist at U-M, says he can see the role for technologies… Read More »
New instructional technology for Flint’s radiation therapy program
Julie Hollenbeck, radiation therapy program director, shared the benefits and significance of UM-Flint’s recent purchase of leading-edge simulation equipment in a Q&A with the Flint’s Communications and Marketing team. Out of 85 programs in the U.S., 23 have a Virtual Environment Radiotherapy Trainer (VERT) for its students. UM-Flint us the only program in Michigan to purchase the system. This… Read More »
Free Coursera certifications for faculty, staff, and students
Coursera for Michigan includes more than 65 courses and 14 teach-outs, with more being offered each month. These resources are useful for those who want more business experience in a new field or more training within their own field. James DeVaney, associate vice provost for academic innovation, states that with offering this service U-M is “able… Read More »